Such high-frequency circuits are used, among others things, in radar technology, for instance in radar sensors, which are used in motor vehicles to measure distances and relative speeds of preceding vehicles, in order to make possible an automatic collision warning or a distance control.
The high-frequency circuit then typically includes a number of feeder lines which connect a number of antenna patches, that are situated on the same printed circuit board, to associated oscillators and evaluation circuits. In the case of transmitting antennas, in order to achieve a certain angular distribution of the radiation transmitted, it is often desirable to feed a plurality of groups of antenna elements that are situated interspersed or interleaved with signals which differ in their phase, amplitude and/or frequency. If the antenna patches form only two groups, it is possible to link up the feeder lines from different sides to the series of antenna elements, so that crossings of the feeder lines are able to be avoided. Frequently, however, it is desirable or required, for reasons of space or based on other boundary conditions, that the antenna patches are fed starting from the same side. In antenna arrangements having three or more separately fed groups, crossings of the feeder lines are unavoidable.
In principle, it is possible to implement a crossing position by guiding the feeder lines crossing one another in various planes in the printed circuit board. However, this requires a relatively costly high-frequency-suitable printed circuit board having a plurality of wiring planes.
One possible alternative is to mount an additional element at the crossing position which forms a bridge for one of the lines. This design approach is, however, also relatively costly and requires additional installation space which, under certain installation conditions, will not be available.